Medical Malpractice Lawyers in Jacksonville

This could include a diagnosis that was significantly delayed. For example, symptoms may not have been investigated properly, or a certain medical issue may not have been screened for appropriately. It can also include when lab test results are misinterpreted or when you are not appropriately referred to a specialist.

This could include the use of improper sterilization techniques or other issues related to patient prep. Other possibilities include the wrong procedure being performed, or improper care that leads to blood clots, for example, or post-op infection. Sometimes, these errors cause current medical issues to worsen; other times, new ones are created.

Improper prenatal care falls into this type of medical malpractice, including the prescribing of medicines that can harm the fetus. It can include inadequate assessment of the baby while still in the womb or when injuries occur due to a lack of timely response. A failure to perform a C-section or improper use of forceps are two more examples.

This can include a lack of having a backup doctor on call, prematurely discharging you from the hospital, not following up with test results, not providing a patient with proper instructions, and more.

As just one example, the Stryker Rejuvenate hip implant can have failed components that, once corroded, can lead to multiple problems, including but not limited to premature device failure. Metal-on-metal knee and/or hip implants have also been used without proper warning of possible dangers.

Signs of neglect or abuse can include unsanitary living conditions, lack of response to calls for help, unexplained injuries, inadequate nutrition, and more. Because of the Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987, nursing homes are required, by law, to provide residents with the “highest practicable” degree of care.

Errors of this type can originate with various medical professionals, from doctors or nurses, hospitals, pharmacies, and more, including the drug manufacturer. This type of error can become malpractice in cases when medicines are prescribed that negatively interact with others or trigger known allergies. Incorrect labeling is also a potential cause of a situation rising to medical malpractice.

This includes situations where a medical professional does not meet standards of care that another professional with similar knowledge and skills would use. As just one example, you could get diagnosed with a cold when you really have pneumonia.

Required standards of care can differ from those in a primary care physician’s office because, by its very nature, the emergency room can be filled with people suffering from significant injury or illness. That does not mean, however, that malpractice can’t occur in emergency rooms. It can, and does, happen.

These situations can occur during and after surgery, if you are not appropriately monitored for complications. These cases can include post-surgical infections, inadequate discharge instructions, and more.

This can include an incorrect diagnosis, improper prescriptions, and more. It can also include when a patient doesn’t give consent before surgery, as one more example.

If a doctor abandons a patient who needs medical care and the patient can’t find a replacement—and suffers as a result—this can form the basis of a medical malpractice suit.

A: Medical malpractice takes place when a medical professional fails to perform his or her duties competently and, as a result, a patient was harmed. Legal specifics vary by state but, in general, the situation broadly described here must exist for something to qualify as malpractice.

A doctor-patient relationship must exist, meaning you hired a medical professional and he or she agreed to this arrangement. You couldn’t, for example, successfully sue a doctor for following advice you overheard in a hospital hallway.
This professional must have been negligent in discharging his or her duty at an appropriate standard of care. In other words, a breach of duty must exist. It is not enough, for example, if you disagree with advice or treatment given, or if the treatment was not the best available. The professional just must have been reasonably skillful and careful.
This negligence must have caused an injury or been the cause of a worsening injury or illness.
You must have actually suffered harm because of what the medical professional did or neglected to do. Damages must have occurred.

A: There are four elements of malpractice—actually hiring a professional, that professional being negligent, that negligence causing injury, and that injury causing you to suffer harm. To prove medical malpractice, each of these elements must be proven. Specifics of malpractice law vary by state but, in general, these elements serve as the basis of malpractice proof.

A: Medical negligence occurs when a professional indirectly causes injury or death, because the standards of care were not met. No harm was intended, but a lack of knowledge or action causes a harmful oversight to take place. With malpractice, the standard of care was intentionally breached, which can make the latter even more complex to prove in court.

A: From the moment you suspect that malpractice may have occurred, begin to gather your medical records and write down a detailed timeline of what happened, including what you were told by medical professionals. List how the injuries you’ve suffered have had, and are having, a negative impact on your life. Because these types of cases can become quite complex, with multiple nuances of the law coming into play, it makes good sense to also contact an experienced medical malpractice attorney.